Machine for separating and assorting potatoes



(No Model.\ 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. M. KEITH. MACHINE FOR SEPARATING AND ASSORTING POTATOES.

No. 448,434. Patented Mar. 17,1891.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

, H. M. KEITH. MACHINE FOR SEPARATING AND ASSORTING POTATOES. No.448,434. Patented Mar. 17, 1891.

' same.

ll ivrrno STATES PATENT rrrcn.

HORACE M. KEITH, OF COMMERCE, MICHIGAN.

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING: AND AssonTiNe POTATOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 448,434, dated March17, 1891.

Application filed September 22, 1890- serial No. 365,785. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known thatI, HORACE M. KEITH, a citizen of the United States,residingat Commerce, 111 the county of Oakland and State of Michigan,have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Separating andSorting Potatoes, of which the following is a specification.

I have invented an improved machine for separating potatoes as they aredug from the hills with the vines and the earth, and in which thecleaned potatoes are assorted into grades. In the construction of themachine provision is made for operating the separating-platform by handor by the feet, or by both; and the machine is designed with specialregard for cheapness of construction, for durability, and forsatisfactory work, as I will now describe in connection with theaccompanying drawings, and will point out the precise improvements inthe claims concluding this specification.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows my improved potato-separatorin perspective. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the Fig. 3is a vertical transverse section taken through the foot-operated lever,and Fig. 4 shows in top view the separating-platform and its connectedfoot and hand operating-levers and their relation to the operators seat,and Fig. 5 is an end View of the dis charge separating-platform.

The frame consists, essentially, of two long sills a a, an axle-beam 12,secured crosswise to the sills near their ends, the other ends of thesills being connected by a cross-piece c, the sills being parallel andplaced close together to run between two rows of potatoes, and themachine is guided and turned by shafts, so that the horse, hitchedbetween them by a whiftletree to the front cross-piece c, walks betweentwo rows. The axle extends beyond the sills and has carrying-wheels 61(Z, which run on outer sides of the two adjacent rows. At the junctionof the axle and the sills I firmly secure at the outer sides of thelatter uprights e e, and at the other ends of the sills, at the junctionof the cross-piece 0, two like uprights c are firmly secured, and theseuprights are connected by cross-bars ff at their upper ends. At eachside these uprights are connected by boards or bars 9 g, which extendbeyond the uprights e and form the shafts g g, by which the machine isturned or guided. Below these shaft-bars two other bars 72 h are securedto the four uprights, and between these uprights the separating:platform is suspended about in a plane with the shaftbars. Thisseparatingplatform is composed of two side timbers t' 1', between whicha bot- .tom screen j is formed by longitudinal slats placed so as toscreen and separate the earth from the potatoes, and is of a lengthabout two-thirds that of the side timbers with that end next theshaft-bars closed. At the other end of this screen I secure between theside timbers two parallel bars 7t, which join the side timbers byflaring ends 70' it at the end of the screen j, so as to leave spaces 1l between the side timbers and the inner bars. Between these inner barsa coarse screen m is formed by slats n on a plane with the screen j,from which latter the potatoes pass upon the coarse screen and aresorted, the young or smaller potatoes passing through it, while thelarger potatoes pass off at the end. These inner bars extend below theside timbers, and between them a lower second finer screen 19 is formedto receive the sorted potatoes; but it will be noticed that this secondscreen is of less length and is shorter than the upper sorting-screen,for a purpose to be presently stated.

The separating-platform is suspended be tween the uprights by rods q,pivotally connected to the side timbers and to the uprights,

so that the receiving end of the platform, I

which is next the shaft-bars, can be adj usted vertically to incline itto give the potatoes the proper discharge movement over and from thescreens; The front uprights e e are for this purpose provided with holes(1, into which to set the rods higher or lower to give theoperating-platform more or less inclination.

As a means of shaking the platform, I provide a hand-lever r, pivoted atits lower end to one of the side bars h and to the side timber of theplatform, so that it can be reached and vibrated by the operator from aseat 8,

placed upon the side bars against the uprights 8 6 above the platform.-I also provide for shaking the separatingrplatforin by means of thefeet of the operator, so'that when he tires using the hand-lever he canuse his feet, leaving both his hands free to remove the vines from thescreen as they are fed down toward him. For this purpose I provide afoot-lever if, placed across and above the sills 'upon a rock-bar u,journaled in the axle and in a cross-bar o. Abell-crank lever is pivotedto the other side bar 72, and its slotted ends are connected, the one itto the side timber of the platform and the other k to one end of thefoot-lever, so that the operators legs, standing down in the spaces ll,with his feet upon each end of the foot-lever, can rock it, and thusvibrate the bell-crank lever, and through it vibrate theseparatingplatform. In this shaking of the platform it is subjected tosudden knocks by means of stops or, projecting from the side timbers soas to strike against the uprights e e on the backward and upwardswinging movement of the platform, giving a sudden jar to the platform,causing the potatoes to jump up and back and the earth to pass downthrough the screen. That end of the bellcrank lever which is connectedto the foot-lever is prefer ably extended beyond such connection toreceive a weight g, which I find greatly increases the leverage force inthrowing the platform against its stops and shaking up the potatoes andearth and throwing them slightly to the front.

011 the ends of the sills which project back of the axle I place a box,which extends between the carrying-wheels with its inner side againstthe uprights e c, and I divide this box into two separate compartments AB, which extend its length, by means of a removable partition 0, so thatthe inner compartment will be directly under the discharge end of thelower short screen of the separator-platform, while the upper longersorting-screen of this platform will discharge into the outercompartment. Both of these compartments may be permitted to fill withthe sorted potatoes, and the larger ones removed first there from byturning down the hinged back D upon the ends of the sills, as shown bydotted lines in Fig. 2, and then taking out the partition 0. The rearcompartment may, however, be used to hold baskets, which can be placedunder the discharge end of the upper sortingscreen and shoved to oneside as they are filled, so that the-box can carry one compartment to befilled with the small potatoes and a number of baskets to be filled withthe larger potatoes as the operation of digging and cleaning progressesin the field.

A short screen E may be secured upon the side timbers of the platformabove the main screen to receive the potato-hills as they are shoveledthereon for the purpose of retaining the vines, and allow the potatoesand earth to fall through them upon the main screen, as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 1 and in full lines in Figs. 2 and 4. I may also providethe receiving-compartments A and B with screen-bottoms, so that any dirtwhich may 1 facing.

pass with the potatoes into these compartments will drop through theslotted bottoms of these compartments.

The sills are placed near together, as stated, so that they will runbetween and not be in the way in digging the hills, and two or threerows may be-dug on each side of the screen and from sixteen totwenty-five hills may be thrown into the screen at each stop.

It will be seen that the shaking platform is suspended quite low down inthe frame, and that the operators seat is placed low down on the frame,so that a canopy may be supported upon the uprights as a cover for theoperator, who sits with his feet upon the foot-lever and with his handsfree to catch and throw out any vines or stones that may be moved withthe potatoes down the screen, which he sits This construction also givesthe advantages of permitting him to use a hoe or rake or fork tofacilitate the separation of the potatoes and to remove the vines, andhe can use his hands for cleaning the potatoes as they pass upon thenarrow screen, while he uses his feet to shake the platform.

I claim as my improvement- 1. In a machine for separating and sortingpotatoes, the shaking platform having the short top vine-receivingscreen E, the separating-screenj, the short end sorting-screen m, andthe short under-end screen 13 of different size openings, in combinationwith the carrying-frame having a transverse box-receptacle extendingbeyond each side of the frame and having compartments arranged toreceive the potatoes from the short end screens, as shown and described.I

2. In a machine for separating and sorting potatoes, the combination ofa separatingplatform, a carrying frame therefor, a seat upon said frame,a rocking foot-bar beneath the platform, and a bell-crank lever pivotedto said frame, to the platform, and to said foot-bar, for the purposestated.

3. In a machine for separating and sorting potatoes, the combination ofa separatingplatform, a carrying-frame therefor, a seat upon said frame,a rocking foot-bar beneath the platform, a bell-crank lever pivoted toone side of said frame, to one side ofsaid platform, and to one end ofsaid foot-bar, and a hand-lever pivoted to the other side of said frameand to said platform, for the purpose stated.

4. In a machine for separating and sorting potatoes, the shakingplatform having the separatingscreen j, the inside boards 70, formingthe side spaces Z Z within the platform,the coarse and fine screens mpbetween the inside boards, one above the other and the upper one on thesame plane with the said scrcenj, in combination with a suitableboxreceptacle for the sorted potatoes, and means for longitudinallyshaking said screens, consisting of a foot-lever t,abell-crank leverconmeeting said foot-lever, the shaking platform, and the frame, asshown and described.

IIO

5. In a machine for separating and sorting potatoes, the combination ofthe frame, the seat thereon, the shaking platform having the side stopsw and the side spaces Z Z, the footlever 25 below the platform, and abell-crank lever connecting the said foot-lever with the platform andthe frame and having its footlever connected end weighted, for thepurpose stated.

6. In a machine for separating and sorting potatoes, the combination ofthe frame constructed with sills, the wheel-supported axle upon the rearends of the sills, the uprights and the shaft-bars secured thereto, theseparating-platform suspended between said uprights, atransversely-arranged box of two compartments upon the rear ends of saidsills, a seatupon the frame, a foot-lever arranged beneath the platformand connected to operate said platform, and stops 00 upon thelatter, asshown and described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

HORACE M. KEITHL WVitnesses:

, FRANK R. STETsoN, ROBT. STANLAKE.

